Diamond Comic Distributors is proud to announce the annual Dave Hawksworth Memorial Comic Shop Improvement Award. Named after Dave Hawksworth, Diamond’s late Outside Sales Manager, the award grants $5,000 to a local comic shop owner to be used for improvements to their business.

An Ohio native, and a longtime resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, Hawksworth joined Diamond in 1996, following the company’s acquisition of Capital City Distribution. Dave served as an Outside Sales Manager, visiting thousands of comic book shops during his 20-plus years at Diamond, befriending each retailer and helping them to grow their business. Now, an annual award in his name will honor that legacy, financially helping comic shop owners to make improvements to their stores.

“Dave loved discussing the industry with our customers, and was a big champion of the independent retailer.” said Diamond VP- Sales and Marketing Roger Fletcher. “His enthusiastic nature for the world of comics retailing made him a true superhero at his job. It’s only fitting that an award that promotes improving comic book shops and making them better, be named in his honor.”

Comic shop owners interested in applying for the award should submit a statement completing the sentence:

“If I received a $5,000 award to improve my business, I would…”

The award is open to brick-&-mortar stores worldwide. Retailers are encouraged to provide further details, such as a full explanation, pictures, videos, or any other media that would showcase how they would improve their store.

All entry materials are due to Diamond by TODAY, June 15, and should be sent to Diamond Retailer Marketing Manager Andrea Purcell at Diamond’s Home Office (10150 York Road, Hunt Valley, MD 21030) or emailed to her at pandrea@diamondcomics.com.

A panel of Diamond and industry professionals will review the entries and select a winner. The winner will be awarded and announced each year at the Diamond Retailer Appreciation Event Lunch at San Diego Comic-Con.